Committee for regional bike path encouraged by governor's budget

Sunday

Feb 17, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 17, 2013 at 6:12 AM

When the Fairhaven Bike Path was built in 1997, it was the center of controversy. More than 15 years later, however, the path is such a point of pride for the community that a group is looking to expand it to the entire region.

ARIEL WITTENBERG

When the Fairhaven Bike Path was built in 1997, it was the center of controversy. Critics said it would bring disruption and unwelcome traffic to the center of town. A group of 11 opponents even sued the town to prevent it from accepting a more than $600,000 grant from the state.

More than 15 years later, however, the path is such a point of pride for the community that a group of dedicated bikers is looking to expand the path to the entire region.

Since 2011, the SouthCoast Bikeway Committee has been working to build a bike path reaching from Swansea to Wareham.

"This is something that could be transformational for our region," committee member and avid biker Julianne Kelly said.

For two years, Kelly said, the committee has been working with bike path committees and municipal governments to determine a route through the region.

The path is meant to parallel I-195, connecting every downtown area along SouthCoast, including recreational areas like Riverside Park and the campuses of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Bristol Community College in Fall River.

Already, there are paths in Fairhaven, Fall River, Swansea, Somerset and Mattapoisett, and the committee hopes that list could expand in the near future with Gov. Deval Patrick including $400 million for statewide, non-specific bike and pedestrian paths in his proposed budget for FY2014.

If the budget is approved by the Legislature, the Department of Transportation would be responsible for divvying up the money and funding different project applications.

Kelly said towns would apply for grants separately, but the applications would also include plans of the regional bikeway.

Being part of a "bigger plan" is something state Rep. William Straus, D-Mattapoisett, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said the DOT looks at favorably.

"When Fairhaven applied in the 1990s, one of their arguments was that this was a piece of a larger system of pedestrian and bike access," he said. "The idea is that the more people plan benefits, the more likely it is to get completed."

A SouthCoast bikeway will benefit more than just bikers, Kelly said.

"If you go to the Phoenix Path in Fairhaven, there are just as many people walking the trail, walking their dogs, their baby carriages just for fun," she said. "There are people biking or walking to the grocery store, even rollerblading."

Citing other well-known bike paths like the Shining Sea trail from Falmouth to Woods Hole on Cape Cod, Kelly said a regional path would be a big tourist attraction. Currently there are about 24 miles of bike trails on the Cape, which itself is about 75 miles long from Bourne to Provincetown.

"If you build it, they will come," she said. "Once you get down here and get into Westport or Dartmouth or any of these towns, they all have their unique beauties that entice people to come and learn more and spend more money here."

Adam Recchia, a transportation planner with the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, said bike paths also help boost economic development.

He said studies show that home values increase if they are in proximity to bike paths, and that bike paths also sprout local businesses.

"If you have a bike path this long, you're going to have demand for bike repair shops, or cafes for people to stop and have a bite to eat," he said. "These paths go through town centers specifically to increase business."

One obstacle standing in the way of funding is the reluctance of the Department of Transportation to allow bike paths along active railroads, Recchia said.

As it is currently proposed, a SouthCoast bikeway would be near "active rail corridors" in Westport, Dartmouth and Wareham.

"We've heard through the grapevine that the DOT won't allow that, but there isn't an official policy on it," he said. "We are trying to fight that because all around the country they have rail tracks, and then a fence, and then a bike path, no problem."

Kelly said the committee would rather place parts of the bike path along active railways than the alternative of having "striped bike lanes" on roads.

"We are, of course, very concerned about safety, from wearing helmets, to having safe crossings," she said. "A big part of that is keeping the bikes off the road as much as possible."

She added that off-road bike paths are more welcoming to tourists and commuters alike.

"When you have to share the road, it scares away families and people who don't think of themselves as bikers," she said. "If it's off-road, it's more encouraging."

And encouraging people to go out and enjoy the region is exactly the goal, Kelly said.

She added that she is so confident that the path from Swansea to Wareham would work that committee members are already dreaming about a path to the tip of Cape Cod.

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